How to remove bing.com browser hijacker from Mac?

What is bing.com?

bing.com is a well-known, legitimate search engine owned by Microsoft and is not associated with any viruses, malware, and so on. Despite this, many browser hijackers, potentially unwanted applications (PUAs), promote bing.com to give the impression of legitimacy. Typically, users install apps of this type unintentionally. Once installed, they modify browser settings, deliver ads, and collect data relating to users' browsing activity.

Most browser-hijacking apps target popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer. When installed, they stealthily assign the default search engine, homepage, and new tab URL to bing.com. Some unwanted apps even add a URL extension to the shortcut targets of each affected browser. These changes force users to visit bing.com when they open a browser/new tab and attempt to search. Another downside of having a browser hijacked by these unwanted apps is that they are often installed with so-called "helper objects". These are installed as extensions, plug-ins, or add-ons, and prevent users from changing the settings assigned by browser hijackers. Therefore, "helper objects" reassign settings when attempts are made to change them. Redirects to bing.com pose no threats to browsing safety, privacy, etc., however, browser hijackers can cause issues, regardless of the legitimacy of the promoted search engine. Furthermore, PUAs often feed users with intrusive advertisements (pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys, and so on) that usually conceal underlying content of any website. If clicked, they might redirect to untrustworthy, deceptive websites, thus potentially leading to installation of adware or even malware. Another downside of browser-hijacking PUAs is that most gather browsing-related data (IP addresses, search queries, URLs of visited websites, geo-locations, etc.). Developers share this information with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). Some of the collected data might include personal details. Therefore, data tracking apps can cause privacy or browsing safety issues. We recommend that you uninstall all unwanted, unknown apps from browsers immediately.

Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Spyhunter.

Most PUAs of this type (browser hijackers) are promoted as providing 'useful' tools or features, however, these are merely attempts by their developers to trick people into downloading/installing them. Generally, these apps are designed only to generate revenue for and deliver no real value for regular users. Some examples of other websites promoted by browser hijackers include search.hogwarin.com, search-me.club, and mysearchency.com.

How did bing.com install on my computer?

In most cases, browser hijackers infiltrate systems without direct user permission - they are installed when software developers use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" or through other (clicked) intrusive advertisements. Bundling is used to trick users into installing unwanted apps (such as browser hijackers) together with regular software. Software developers hide these apps in "Custom", "Advanced" and other options/settings of the installation/download processes. They do not disclose information about additionally-included apps. Furthermore, many users skip installation/download steps without checking settings, thus leading to inadvertent installations.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Be careful when browsing the web and downloading/installing software, especially freeware (free software). Do not download apps from unofficial websites, using third party software downloaders/installers, or other similar sources. Check all available "Custom", "Advanced", and other settings/options when installing or downloading software. Deselect offers to download/install various apps, change browser settings, and so on, and only then complete the process. Be careful with ads displayed on dubious websites. Clicking them might cause redirects to other unwanted/untrustworthy sites. If you are continually redirected to pornography, gambling, adult dating, or other suspicious websites, check the list of installed applications/browser plug-ins, add-ons or extensions and remove any suspicious entries immediately. The same applies to programs installed on your operating system. If your computer is already infected with browser hijackers, we recommend running a scan with
Spyhunter for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Example of a browser-hijacking software installer that promotes bing.com:

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bing.com redirect removal:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX", "NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Spyhunter.

Remove browser-hijacking applications related files and folders:

Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar, choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/Application Support folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/Application Support

In the “Application Support” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, “MplayerX” or “NicePlayer”, and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for adware-generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents folder:

In the Go to Folder bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents

In the “LaunchAgents” folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, “kuklorest.update.plist”, etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the same string.

Check for adware-generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons

In the “LaunchDaemons” folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example, “com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist”, “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”, "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist”, “com.avickUpd.plist”, etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps in the correct order you Mac should be clean of infections. To be sure your system is not infected run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file double click combocleaner.dmg installer, in the opened window drag and drop Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates it's virus definition database and click "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide, otherwise it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Remove browser-hijacking applications related Safari extensions:

Open Safari browser. From the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the “Set to Current Page” button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Open your Mozilla Firefox browser. At the top right corner of the screen, click the "Open Menu" (three horizontal lines) button. From the opened menu, choose "Add-ons".

Choose the "Extensions" tab and look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Remove" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Mozilla Firefox browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

In the URL address bar, type "about:config" and click the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.

In the "Search:" field, type the name of the browser hijacker. Right click on each of the found preferences and click "Reset" from the drop-down menu.

If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Remove browser-hijacking applications related Google Chrome add-ons:

Open Google Chrome and click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button located in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the drop-down menu, choose "More Tools" and select "Extensions".

In the "Extensions" window, look for any recently-installed suspicious add-ons. When located, click the "Trash" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Google Chrome browser - none are crucial for normal browser operation.

Change your homepage:

Click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button and choose "Settings". In the "On Startup" section, click the "Set pages" link near to the "Open a specific page or set of pages" option. Remove the URL of the browser hijacker (for example trovi.com) and enter your preferred URL (for example, google.com).

Change default search engine:

Click the "Chrome menu" (three horizontal lines) button and choose "Settings". In the "Search" section, click the "Manage search engines..." button. In the opened window, remove the unwanted Internet search engine by clicking the "X" button next to it. Select your preferred Internet search engine from the list and click the "Make default" button next to it.

If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

I am passionate about computer security and technology. I have an experience of 10 years working in various companies related to computer technical issue solving and Internet security. I have been working as an editor for pcrisk.com since 2010. Follow me on Twitter to stay informed about the latest online security threats.

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